Form handling device for business machines



Dec. 8, 1959 Filed May 12. 1958 c. A. PARKER 2,916,129

FORM HANDLING DEVICE FOR BUSINESS MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1NVENTO&amass A. PARKER M FMMM/ Dec. 8, 1959 c. A. PARKER 2,916,129

FORM HANDLING DEVICE FOR BUSINESS MACHINES CHARLES A. PARKER BY F- Ar'me/vsr.

Dec. 8, 1959 c. A. PARKER FORM HANDLING DEVICE FOR BUSINESS MACHINES 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 12, 1958 (HA RLES A. make-k ATTORNEY Dec. 8,1959 c. A. PARKER FORM HANDLING DEVICE FOR BUSINESS MACHINES 5Sheets-Sheet.4

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FORM HANDLING DEVICE FOR BUSINESS MACHINES Filed May 12. 1958 5Sheets-Sheet, 5

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INVENTOR. CHARLES A. PARKER United States Patent FORM HANDLING DEVICEFOR BUSINESS MACHINES Charles A. Parker, East Orange, N.J., assignor toMonroe Calculating Machine Company, Orange, N .J., a corporation ofDelaware Application May 12, 1958, Serial No. 734,781

14 Claims. (Cl. 197-128) The present invention pertains to form handlingdevices. More particularly, it relates to form handling devices of thetype which automatically position a work sheet in proper line positionfor receiving printing impressions from a machine such as a typewriteror an accounting machine.

One such form handling device is disclosed in United States patentapplication Serial No. 485,782 filed February .2, 1955 by M. Oberholzerand W. Reber under the title Front Feed Apparatus for Bookkeeping orTypewriting Machines, now Patent No. 2,831,560. As set forth therein thedevice, which is mounted on the shiftable carriage of a printingmachine, includes a front feed chute into which the operator inserts awork sheet. Thereupon, the sheet is automatically fed downwardly to theproper line position for printing as controlled by suitable feed controldesignations or representations carried by the sheet. When the carriageis returned afterprinting, another feed control designation is appliedto the sheet to govern the feeding thereof the next time it is to beused, and the sheet is automatically fed upwardly for either a singleline spacing or for ejection. After posting is completed on the lastline of the sheet and the carriage returned, the sheet is automaticallyejected upwardly.

The prior art device described above possesses one particularshortcoming in that a full sheet, i.e., one which has been posted on allits available lines, if inadvertently inserted into the device will befed downwardly to position its last line for printing and will remainthere. Accordingly, the current printing will improperly be superimposedover the previous printing which already appears on the last line.

In accordance with the present invention, this situation is prevented byproviding that a full sheet inserted into the form handling device willbe automatically ejected immediately upon termination of downward feedthereof to its last line position.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved formhandling devicev for a printing machine.

It is a further object to provide a form handling device which willprevent printing on afull sheet. in serted into the device.

It is a further object to provide a form handling unit which willprovide the operator with an indication that a full sheet has beeninserted.

' It is a more specific object to provide a form handling unit whichwill automatically eject an inserted full sheet 2,916,129 Patented Dec.8, 1959 Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation of a work sheet usedwith the form handling device. I

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view-taken on line 66 ofFig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a schematic wiring diagram of the electrical circuitry of theform handling device of the invention.

The present invention is an improvement over aform handling device ofthe type disclosed in patent application Serial No. 485,782 filed by M.Oberholzer and W. Reber. Reference is hereby made to said applicationfor conventional details of structure not fully disclosed herein. To theextent practical, parts of the instant device which correspond to likeor equivalent parts of the application device will be similarlynumbered. Referring now to Fig. 1, the form handling unit 1 is thereshown rigidly mounted in any suitable fashion on the shiftable platencarriage 2a of an accounting machine 2 which may be constructed asdisclosed in Patent No. 2,809,782 issued October 15, 1957 to H. M.Fleming. Differentially adjustable type members 3 of the machine areadapted to print digital values on a work sheet 4 held in front ofplaten 2b as controlled by operation of the machine. It will of coursebe realized that unit 1 may be suitably incorporated in any desired typeof type- Writing or accounting machine.

'As disclosed in the Oberholzer et al. application, the form handlingunit 1 is automatically operable to place the work sheet in proper lineposition for receiving printing impressions from type members 3. Themachine operator need merely insert .the Work sheet into the upper endof one or the other of two paper receiving chutes 20, 20a. In responseto sheet insertion, operation of sheet feeding mechanism isautomatically initiated whereby the sheet is driven downwardly. Thedownward feed will be terminated in either one of two ways, dependingupon whether the sheet is fresh, i.e., has never been printed onpreviously, or has been used before. In the case of a fresh sheet, thedownward feed thereof will continue to a maximum extent until its first(or uppermost) available lines is positioned to receive printing, atwhich time the feed will be terminated in response to operation of apreset control means. However, if the sheet has previously receivedprinting on one or more lines, it will contain corresponding feedcontrol designations applied by suitable devices of unit 1 during theprior handling of the sheet. These designations comprise a series oftabs 4a (Figs. 5, 6) punched in descending order along one side of thesheet, the lowermost tab having been punched following the most recentline posting operation. As the sheet is fed downwardly, the saidlowermost tab is brought into cooperable relation with a sensing means,the latter thereupon being operable to control termination of feedwhereby the next blank line is positioned to receive entries. Since theparticular type of control designation forms no part of the invention,other suitable designations may be employed if desired.

After printing has been completed on the line, the carriage is returnedin any conventional manner. The carriage return movement will operate aswitch 236 (Fig.

3) which is elfective to cause punching of another tab, said tabcontrolling the automatic line positioning of the Sheet the next time itis used. Following the punching operation, the paper feed means isautomatically operated in reverse direction to drive the sheet upwardly.Depending on the setting of a two-position manually settable switch, theupward feed will either be terminated after a single line space ofmovement, or will continue until the paper is ejected, that is to say,until the paper is fed upwardly to the maximum extent permitted by itsfeed holes.

As best seen in Figs. 1 and'2, the sheet handling unit '1 includes threevertical closely spaced plates 17, 18, 19 i which define front and rearpaper receiving chutes 20 and 20a respectively. The instant descriptionwill'deal only with paper inserted into the front chute 20; however, itwill be understood that, as disclosed in the aforementioned Oberholzeret al. application, substantially identical mechanism is provided forindependently controlling a separate sheet of paper in chute 20a. Eitheror both chutes may contain paper. In the latter case, printing can beeffected on the rear sheet through the medium of carbon paper interposedbetween the two 'sheets; or, the rear sheet may be wider than the frontsheet and printing performed directly on that portion of the formerwhich lies to the side of the latter.

Feeding of a sheet 4 in chute 20 is effected by means of a pair ofspaced sprocket wheels '16 each engageable with preformed feed holes 4bof the sheet. Wheels 16 are secured to a shaft 15 which is adapted to berotated in one or the other direction by a reversible motor 30 (shownschematically in Fig. 7) acting through a suitable drive train (notshown).

Fixed to the left-hand end portion of shaft 15 is a radially recesseddetent wheel 21 (Fig. 3) which is normally engaged by the forward end ofa spring urged detent lever 40 pivotally mounted on the left sideframing plate of unit 1.

The angular spacing of adjacent recesses of wheel 21 corresponds to theline spacing of a sheet, whereby detent lever 40 will accurately andpositively locate the sheet in its various vertical positions. Lever 40is adapted to be rocked clockwise to release shaft 15 by means of arelay 170 (Fig. 2) whose armature is connected to the lever by a link175. Such movement of lever 40 will also be effective to operate threenormally open switches 41, 42, 43 which overlie the rear end thereof.Closure of switch 41 completes a circuit for motor 30 which willthereupon be energized to operate feed sprockets 16.

Introduction of a work sheet into chute 20 will automatically initiateoperation of the drive for the paper feed sprockets 16 to cause thesheet to be fed downwardly. For this purpose, a sensing member 120projects into the chute a short distance above the sprockets, and will,upon being engaged by the lower edge of the sheet, be shifted to therear to close a switch 151. A circuit for a relay 150 will thereby becompleted, the operating movement of whose armature serves to withdrawthe sensing member -from chute 20 so that said member will not interferewith downward movement of the sheet.

Operation of relay 150 will be effective to operate a relay 160 (Fig.7), contacts 161 and 162 of the latter relay controlling the polarity(and therefore the direction of rotation) of motor 30. When relay 160 isdeenergized, the direction of motor rotation will be such as to drivesprockets counterclockwise (Figs. 1, 2) to feed a sheet upward;conversely, when the relay is energized, the motor will operate the feedsprockets clockwise to feed the sheet in descending direction.

Operation of relay 160 will establish a circuit for relay 170 which willwithdraw detent arm 40 from engagement with detent Wheel 21, thismovement of the arm closing switch 41 and thus initiating motoroperation. In view of the energized condition of relay 160,

4 the sprockets 16 will be rotated clockwise and will feed the paperdownwardly. It should be noted that the work sheet will have dropped tocooperable relation with sprockets 16 by the time the latter elementsstart to rotate.

If the sheet is free of any previous entries, it will be fed downwardlyto a maximum extent to position its first line for printing, the feedbeing terminated under control of a pin 50 mounted on a control gear 24(Fig. 3). Gear 24 is driven by a pinion 23 fast on shaft 15, theincremental angular positions of said gear corresponding to the variousline spaced positions of the work sheet. Gear 24 is provided with anannular series of apertures 31, any one of which is adapted to receivepin 50 whereby the feed may be terminated at any preset selected lineposition. Gear 24 will rotate clockwise as the paper descends and in thecourse of such movement pin 50 will move into engagement with theforward arm of a bell crank 51, rocking the latter clockwise to close anormally open switch 54 and thus complete a circuit for a relay 180, theoperation of which is effective to terminate the downward paper feed.

If the sheet has previously received entries, it will contain theaforementioned control tabs 4a, the lowermost of which is sensed toterminate the feed with the next blank line properly positioned toreceive printing. The means for sensing said lowermost tab comprises anelongated strip 102 (Figs. 3, 4) which is guided at its lower end forvertical movement in guide channel 108 defined by respective opposedwalls of a block 107 and a member 100. The lower resilient end 103 ofsaid strip is bent upwardly and outwardly, the free end 104 thereofbeing adapted to frictionally contact the rear face of a sheet withinchute 20. To insure that portion 104 will not obstruct the downwardpassage of the lower end of a descending sheet, sensing member 102 isnormally disposed in a position somewhat lower than that shown in Fig. 4whereby guide channel 108 will hold portion 104 closely adjacent to themain body portion of member 102. As described in the aforementionedOberholzer application, this function is performed by a pivoted member86 (Fig. 3) whose slotted forward end is engageable with a horizontaloffset 106 of member 102. A depending portion 81 of member 86 isnormally prevented from rocking counterclockwise by a pin mounted oncontrol gear 24. When the paper has moved downwardly a distancesuflicient to allow its lower end to clear sensing portion 104, pin 80of control gear 24 will no longer block member 86, the latter thereuponbeing free to rock counterclockwise under the urge of a suitable springand raise portion 104 to active sensing position. When the lowermost tab411 encounters sensing portion 104, it will shift member 102 in downwarddirection, closing a switch 110. This will complete a circuit for thefeed terminating relay and the paper will come to rest in proper lineposition.

When gear 24 is in its normal unoperated position seen in Fig. 3, pin 80abuts and maintains bell crank 51 in clockwise position, the latterthereby holding open a switch 53 which is resiliently biased towardclosed position. As soon as downward feeding movement of the work sheetis initiated, pin 80 will be removed clockwise from engagement with thebell crank, allowing switch 53 to close. The switch will then remainclosed until the sheet is subsequently restored to its starting positionat which time pin 80 will once again engage bell crank 51 and open theswitch.

Control gear 24 is also provided with a laterally protruding button 260positioned so that it closes a transfer switch 261 when the paper is inposition to receive printing on its last (or lowermost) line. Theoperation of switches 53 and 261 will be discussed in some detailsubsequently in connection with the electrical contact circuitry of theinvention.

After posting is completed on the line, the carriage is returned. in anysuitablefashion. During. a portion of thereturn movement, a lever 235pivoted on unit 1 (Fig. 3) will engage a suitable cam surface providedon the fixed framing of the accounting machine and will be rockedclockwise to close a normally open switch 236. Closure of switch 236will complete a circuit for a punch relay 190 (Fig. 2) whose armature isconnected by a link 191 to a punch member 192. Punch member 192 isguided for longitudinal movement in an inclined hole of block 107 andwill be actuated, upon operating movement of said armature, to form anindex tab 4a which will serve to control the subsequent insertion of thesheet into unit 1. Immediately after the punching operation there willfollow an automatically initiated upwardly directed feeding movement ofthe sheet. This upward movement will either be continuous to eject thesheet or will be limited to a single line spacing operation depending onthe setting of a manually adjustable two-position switch 230 mounted ona control panel In of unit 1 (Fig. 1).

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT DIAGRAM AND OPERATION (FIG. 7)

Paper insertion As mentioned before, upon insertion of the sheet intochute 20, sensing member 120 will be operated to close switch 151. Acircuit for relay 150 will be established as follows: line 314, relay150, line 321, switch 151, normally closed contact 181 of relay 180,line 320. The energization of relay 150 will close a normally opencontact 152 thereof completing a circuit for relay 160 through line 314,relay 160, contact 152, switch 151, normally closed contact 181 of relay180, line 320. Transfer contacts 161 and 162 of relay 160 willaccordingly be operated to adjust the polarity of motor 30 for downwardpaper feed. Two additional transfer contacts 163 and 164 of relay 160will be operated, contact 163 completing a circuit for relay 170 throughline 338, 170, line 319, contact 163, line 322, contact 181, line 320.The energization of relay 170 will cause disengagement of detent arm 40from detent wheel 21, releasing shaft 15 for rotation and causingclosure of switches 41, 42, and 43. This completes a circuit for motor30 as follows: line 308, contact 162, line 312, motor 30, switch 41,line 311, line 310, contact 161, line 314. The motor will now operate todrive sprockets 16 clockwise as viewed in Fig. 2, and the paper will befed in downward direction.

Termination of downward feed Pin 50 will terminate the downward feed toposition a. fresh sheet of paper for printing on its first line in thefollowing fashion. As the sheet approaches this position, bell crank 51will be engaged and rotated counterclockwise in Fig. 3 (clockwise inFig. 7) by the pin, closing switch 54. This completes a circuit for thefeed terminating relay 180 as follows: line 314, relay 180, line 326,line 325, switch 54, line 324, line 308. The normally closed contact 181of relay 180 will open and will break the above described circuits forrelays 150 and 170. However, even though relay 170 is now deenergized,detent arm 40 is at this time riding on the outer surface of detentwheel 21 and is thus still held in clockwise position. Switches 41, 42,and 43 therefore remain in closed condition, the motor remainingenergized through switch 41, relay 150 (and consequently relay 160)remaining energized through switch 43 as follows: line 314, relay 150,line 321, switch 43, transfer contact 164 of relay 160, line 317, switch53, line 324, "line 308. It will be recalled that switch 53 is permittedto close as soon as the downward paper movement commences. The feedcontinues for a short distance until detent arm 40 drops into the nextrecess of detent wheel 21 whereupon switches 41, 42, and 43 arepermitted to open, breaking the motor circuit and the circuit for relay150. Contact 152 of the latter relay will now open, deenergizing relay160 so that its contacts 161, :162, 163, and 164 return to their normalcondition shown in Fig. 7. j

If the paper has previously been posted on, it will contain the punchedindex tabs 4a, the lowermost of which will engage sensing member 102 toclose switch before pin 50 reaches bell crank 51. A circuit for theterminating relay 180 will be established as follows: line 314, relay180, line 326, switch 110, line 320. Relay 180 will now controltermination of the downward feeding movement in the same fashion asdescribed in the preceding paragraph.

Punching After posting on a line has been completed, the carriage isreturned. During the return movement, lever 235 will maintain switch 236closed for a period of time. A circuit for the punch relay 190 isaccordingly established as follows: line 308, line 324, switch 53, line317, transfer contact 164 of relay 160, line 301, line 302, switch 236,normally closed contact 201 of relay 200, transfer switch 261, normallyclosed contact 223 of relay 220, punch relay 190, and line 304; wherebythe punch member 192 is actuated to form an index tab in the work sheet.Transfer contact 193 of punch relay 190 will hence be operated and willestablish a circuit for relay 200 as follows: line 308, line 324, switch53, line 317, contact 164, line 301, line 302, contact 193, relay 200,line 304. The normally closed contact 201 of relay 200 will now opendeenergizing the punch relay 190, and a normally open contact 202 ofrelay 200 will now close to establish a holding circuit for this latterrelay through switch 236, its primary circuit having been broken by thenormalizing of transfer contact 193.

Ejection or line spacing after punching Relay 200 includes a secondnormally open contact 203 which, upon energization of said relay, willestablish a circuit for initiating either ejection of the paper or asingle line spacing thereof, depending on the setting of switch 230. Ifthe switch is set to its upper position as shown in Fig. 3(corresponding to the full line position of Fig. 7), contact 203completes a circuit for the ejection control relay 220 through line 308,line 324, switch 53, line 317, contact 164, line 301, line 302, contact193 (now normalized since relay 190 is deenergized), contact 203, switch230, relay 220, line 304. A normally open contact 222 of relay 220 nowestablishes a circuit for relay 170 as follows: line 308, line 324,switch 53, line 317, contact 164, line 301, contact 222, contact 163,line 319, relay .170, and line 338; and detent arm 40 will be disengagedfrom detent wheel 21 to initiate motor operation in the mannerheretofore described. As the carriage continues its return movement,switch 236 will open, breaking the circuit for relay 200 whereby theactuating circuit for relay 220 through contact 203 is opened. However,relay 220 will be held energized by its normally open holding contact221 through the following circuit: line 304, relay 220, contact 221,lines 8 and 301, contact 164, line 317, switch 53, and lines 324 and308.

Since relay is in deenergized condition, the direction of motor rotationwill be such as to drive the work sheet in upward direction. The sheetwill be continuously driven until pin 30, rotating counterclockwise(Fig. 3) engages bell crank 51, opening switch 53 and thereby breakingthe above described holding circuit for relay 220. Contact 222 will opencausing the circuit for relay to be broken, and the motor drive will beterminated when detent arm 40 drops into the next slot of detent wheel21.

If switch 230 is set to its lower position (corresponding to the brokenline showing in Fig. 7), the punching operation will be followed by anupward feed of the paper which will be limited to a single line space.When contact 203 closes, it will complete a circuit for relay 170 asfollows: line 308, line 324, switch 53, line 317, con- .tact 164, lines301 and 302, contact 193, contact 203, switch 230, normally closedcontact 212 of relay 210, line 307, relay 170, line 338. Upward feedingmovement will accordingly be initiated; however, the closing of switch42 by detent arm 40 will complete a circuit for relay 210, openingcontact 212 and causing deenergization of relay 170. The feed willterminate when arm 40 drops into the next recess of the detent wheel.

It has been found that on certain occasions switch 42 will energizerelay 210 with such rapidity that the detent wheel has not advancedsuflieiently far to prevent the detent arm 40 from reengaging with thesame detent recess from which it was just disengaged. if this happens,it will be apparent that the paper will not advance. To prevent thisfrom occurring, there is provided a cam wheel 25 (Figs. 3, 7) which isdriven from control gear 24 and is effective to cyclically close aswitch 97. As described in the Oberholzer et al. application, the lobesof cam wheel 25 are positioned to maintain switch 97 closed when detentarm 40 is aligned with a recess of the detent wheel and also for a shortdistance thereafter. Consequently, even though the circuit for relay 170through contact 212 may have been broken by a very rapid operation ofrelay 210, another circuit for relay 170 will exist as follows: line338, relay 170, line 319, contact 163, normally open (but now closed)contact 171 of relay 170, line 318, switch 97, lines 315, 302, and 301,contact 164, switch 53, lines 324 and 308. This circuit through switch97 will be held closed by cam 25 until the detent wheel 21 has beenrotated an amount sufiicient to prevent the detent arm from re-enteringthe same recess of the wheel. Cam 25 will now permit switch 97 to open;however, since the detent arm is at this time riding on the outersurface of the wheel, motor operation will continue until the armengages with the succeeding recess.

Ejection of full sheet upon carriage return carriage return switch 236now closes, a circuit for the ejection relay 220 will be established asfollows: line 308, line 324, switch 53, line 317, contact 164, line 301,line 302, switch 236, contact 201, switch 261, line 7, relay 220, andline 304. It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 7 that the punchrelay 190 will not be operated in 'view of the operated condition ofswitch 261, and further that the circuit for relay 220 is independent ofswitch 230. Relay 220 will thereupon operate to initiate ejection of thepaper as described earlier. Switch 236 will reopen as the carriagecontinues its return movement and switch 261 will be returned to normalposition as soon as the upward movement of the paper commences; however,

holding contact 221 of relay 220 will continue energization of the relayuntil the eject operation is terminated by the opening of switch 53.

-. Ejection of full sheet immediately after downward feed to last lineIf a full work sheet is inserted into a conventional form handlingdevice constructed in accordance with the foregoing description, thesheet will be fed downwardly and will come to rest (as controlled by atab 4a) with the last line positioned to receive printing. Since thesheet already 'has been posted on the last line, it is apparent that thenew posting will be superimposed on the last posting. In accordance withthe present invention, this undesirable result is avoided by theprovision of means for automatically operating the eject relay .220 assoon as the downward feed of the full sheet to its last line position isterminated. The sheet is consequently ejected immediately whereby asecond posting on the last line is prevented and the operator is madeaware that a new sheet should be begun.

For this purpose a capacitor 5 is connected in parallel with switch 236,a current limiting resistor 6 being provided in series with thecapacitor. Capacitor 5 is normally discharged, and upon being chargedthe charging current will be effective to operate relay 220. Plate 5a ofthe capacitor is normally connected to the minus side of theline throughcontact 201, switch 261, contact 223 of relay 220, relay 190, and line304. Its other plate 51) is adapted to have access to the positive sideof the line through resistor 6, line 302, line 301, contact 164, line317, switch 53, and lines 324 and 308. Switch 53 being normally open,the capacitor 5 will be uncharged. it will be recalled from the priordescription under the heading Paper Insertion that the direction controlrelay (and therefore its contact 164) is operated prior to thecommencement of downward feed and that as soon as the feed commencesswitch 53 is closed. In view of the operation of contact 164 prior tothe closing of switch 53, the last described circuit between plate 51)and the positive side of the line will remain broken during the downwardpaper feed. As the full sheet moves into its last line position button260 will operate switch 261 before relay 160 is deenergized andnormalizes contact 164 upon termination of downward feed. Plate 5b istherefore now connected to the positive line, while plate 5a isconnected to the negative side of the line through relay 220 as follows:contact 201, switch 261, line 7, relay 220, line 304. The chargingcurrent drawn by capacitor 5 through relay 220 will be sufficient tooperate the relay, the latter thereupon being effective to controlejection of the paper as hereinbefore set forth.

As soon as relay 220 operates, its holding contact 221 will establish ashort circuit discharge path for the capacitor as follows: line 7,switch 261, contact 201, capacitor 5, resistor 6, line 302, line 8,contact 221. The discharge path will be interrupted by the normalizingof switch 261 immediately upon the commencement of upward movement ofthe paper. Plate 5b of the capacitor is still connected to the positiveline through contact 164 and switch 53; however, the circuit betweenplate 5a through relay to the negative side of the line has previouslybeen broken by operation of normally closed contact 223 of relay 220when the latter relay was energized by charging of the capacitor. Theejection operation will be concluded by opening of switch 53 which will,as described before, result in deenergizing of relay 220, and willtherefore re-establish the circuit from the negative line through relay190 and contact 223 to plate 511; but since switch 53 opens first andthereby breaks the positive circuit for plate 5b before the closing ofcontact 223, the capacitor will remain uncharged.

It should be noted that under certain conditions capacitor 5 will becharged through relay 190. For example, consider a situation in whichthe paper, upon insertion, is fed to an intermediate line position. Asstated hereinbefore, plate 5a normally has access to the negative line.At the termination of the downward feed, contact 164 will be returned toits normal position shown in Fig. 7 and will thereby complete thecircuit from plate 5b to the positive line. Capacitor 5 will thereuponcharge through the punch relay 190. Such a charging of the capacitor,however, will be ineifective to operate said relay for the followingreasons. The components here under discussion are of the values shown inFig. 7, namely, relay 200, 3,400 ohms; relay 190, 600 ohms; capacitor 5,8 mfd.; resistor 6, 100 ohms. Of course, these values merely representone specific embodiment since those skilled in the art can readilyarrive at different combinaoperation be speeded up.

.tion s of values which will be operative to function in the samefashion. It will be apparent therefore that the RC time of the chargingpath through relay 220 will be considerably. greater than the RC time ofthe path through relay 190. Further, relay 220 when energized has onlyits contacts as a mechanical load whereas relay 190 must operate punch192 in addition to its contacts. For these reasons, the charging pulsethrough relay 220 is capable of operating this relay, while the chargingpulse through relay 190 is insufiicient to energize this latter relay toperform its intended functions.

In addition to operating relay 220 as described before,

relay 200 will remain operated only so long as switch 236 is heldclosed, and that the switch is operated by lever 235 which is moved tooperated position by a cam surface on the machine frame during returnmovement of the carriage. It is desirable that the carriage returnmovement be as rapid as possible in order that the overall machine Ithas been found however that when the carriage return speed is increasedabove a certain point, switch 236 will open (and will therefore breakcontact 203) before relay 170 has had sufficient time to disengagedetent arm 40 from wheel 21. Capacitor will overcome thisdisadvantage'by allowing relay 200 to remain energized for a period oftime sufiicient to enable relay 170 to perform its intended function, asfollows. So long as switch 236 is closed, a discharge path for thecapacitor will exist through the switch. By the time switch 236 againopens, relay 200 will of course be operated whereby its normally closedcontact 201 is now open, interrupting the negative circuit to plate 5athrough relay 1%. Furthermore, normally open contact 202 of relay 200will be closed. Accordingly, the opening of switch 236 will interruptthe discharge path and will cause the capacitor to be charged throughline 304 and relay 200, the charging current being of sufficient amountand duration to keep relay 200 energized long enough for its contact 203to allow relay 170 to disengage detent arm 40 from wheel 21. When thework sheet is subsequently ejected by operation of relay 220, contact221 will permit the capacitor to discharge as set forth earlier.

Manually initiated ejection and line spacing Means are provided wherebya sheet may be either line spaced or ejected under control of theoperator without the necessity of returning the carriage. For thispurpose there are provided on the control panel 1a (Fig. 1) two pushbuttons 240 and 250. Depression of button 240 will initiate ejection,and depression of button 250 will initiate a line spacing operation.

Referring to Fig. 7, operation of button 240 will close a switch 241 tocomplete a circuit for the ejection relay 220 as follows: line 304,relay 220, switch 241, line 8, line 301, contact 164, switch 53, andlines 324 and 308; and the relay will control ejection of the paper inthe manner hereinbefore set forth.

With reference to the line space button 250, depression thereof willclose a switch 251 to complete a circuit for relay 170 as follows: line338, relay 170, line 307, normally closed contact 212 of relay 210,switch 251, line 8, line 301, contact 164, switch 53, and lines 324 and308. Relay 170 will disengage detent arm 40, closing switches 41, 42,and 43 and thereby initiating motor operation. Switch 42 will complete acircuit, described earlier, for relay 210, opening contact 212 to breakthe circuit for relay 170. Therefore, detent arm 40 will be free toenprinting machines. foregoing disclosure be illustrative only and notlimitative gage with the next slot of detent wheel 21 upon comple* tionof a single line space movement of the paper, and relay 210 will benormalized upon opening of switch 42.

Should the operator still have button 250 depressed at the time the linespace operation is completed, relay would again be energized throughcontact 212 and the paper line spaced. To prevent this, a normally opencontact 211 of relay 210 insures that a depression of line space button250 will result in only a single line space movement of the paperregardless of how long the button is held depressed. When relay 210 isenergized through switch 42, a holding circuit therefor will beestablished through contact 211. This holding circuit is as follows:line 304, relay 210, contact 211, switch 251, and thence through lines 8and 301, contact 164, and switch 53 to the positive side of the line.Accordingly, if switch 251 is still held closed at the completion of thesingle line space movement, the holding circuit will prevent relay 210from being deenergized. Contact 212 will accordingly remain openpreventing a second operation of relay 170.

While there has been shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, itwill be understood that various changes may be made in the form, detail,arrangement, and proportions of the parts without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention. Thus, although the instant disclosureshows the invention as embodied in the device of the Oberholzer et al.patent application, the broader principles of the invention are equallyapplicable to many different types of work sheet handling mechanisms forAccordingly, it is intended that the of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a work sheet feeding device for a printing machine, sheet feedingmeans operable to feed a work sheet in'one direction to one of aplurality of line positions and alternatively operable thereafter tofeed said sheet in the opposite direction for ejection thereof, firstcontrol means for controlling operation of said feeding means to feedsaid sheet to said one line position, and ejection control meansoperated immediately upon feeding of said sheet in said one direction toa predetermined line position for controlling operation of said feedingmeans to feed said sheet in the opposite direction for ejection thereof.

2. The invention according to claim 1, said first control meansincluding means operable to terminate the feeding of said sheet in saidone direction at said one line position, and normally ineffectiveoperating means effective immediately upon termination of said feedingmovement at said predetermined line position for operating said ejectioncontrol means.

3. The invention according to claim 2, said predetermined line positionbeing the position in which the last line of the sheet is positioned toreceive printing impressions from said printing machine.

4. The invention according to claim 2, said operating means comprisingtwo normally disabled operating components both of which must be enabledto render said operating means effective, means for enabling one of saidoperating components upon operation of said terminating means, and meansfor enabling the other operating component upon movement of said sheetin said one direction into said predetermined line position.

5. In a work sheet feeding device for a printing machine, sheet feedingmeans operable to feed a work sheet in one direction to one of aplurality of line positions and alternatively operable thereafter tofeed said sheet in the opposite direction for ejection thereof, controlmeans for controlling operation of said feeding means to feed said sheetto said one line position, a normally ineffective ejection control relayoperable to control operation of said feeding means to feed said sheetin said opposite direction for ejection thereof, and normallyineffective electric circuit means for operating said relay immedi- 11ately upon termination of feeding movement of said sheet in saidonedirection at a predetermined line position.

6. The invention according to claim 5, including means for renderingsaid electric circuit means eifective in response to termination offeeding movement of said sheet in said one direction at saidpredetermined line position.

7. The invention according to claim 5, said electric circuit meansincluding two normally disabled circuit portions both of which must beenabled torender said electric circuit means eifective, means forenabling one of said circuit portions in response to termination offeeding movement in said one direction, and means for enabling the othercircuit portion in response to movement of said sheet into saidpredetermined line position.

8. In a work sheet feeding device for a printing ma? chine, sheetfeeding means operable to feed a work sheet in one direction to one of aplurality of line positions and alternatively operable thereafter tofeed said sheet in the opposite direction for ejection thereof, controlmeans for controlling operation of said feeding means to feed said sheetto said one line postion, a normally ineffective ejection control relayoperable to control operation of the feeding means to feed the sheet insaid opposite direction for ejection thereof, normally disabled circuitmeans for operating said relay, said circuit means comprising: anormally discharged capacitor in series with said relay for operatingsaid relay by charging therethrough, and a normally open chargingcircuit for said capacitor, said charging circuit including said relay:and means for enabling said circuit means, said enabling meanscomprising means for closing said charging circuit upon termination offeeding movement of the sheet in said one direction at a predeterminedline position.

I 9. The invention according to claim 8, said control means includingmeans for terminating feeding movement of said sheet in said onedirection, said charging circuit including a normally open circuitportion, said means for closing said charging circuit including meansfor closing 12 said circuit portion upon operation of said terminatingmeans.

10. The invention according to claim 8, said control means includingmeans for terminating feeding movement of said sheet in said onedirection, said charging circuit including a normally open circuitportion, said means for closing said charging circuit including meansoperable to close said circuit portion upon movement of said sheet insaid one direction into said predetermined line position.

11. The invention according to claim 8, said control means includingmeans for terminating feeding movement of said sheet in said onedirection, said charging circuit including two normally open circuitportions, said means for closing said charging circuit including: meansfor closing one of said circuit portions upon operation of saidterminating means, and means for closing the other of said circuitportions upon movement of said sheet into said predetermined lineposition.

12. In a front feed Work sheet handling device for a printing machine,front feed guide means for said sheet, means for feeding said sheet to apostion wherein a blank line thereof below the lowermost previouslyprinted line is positioned to receive printing from said machine, meansfor determining Whether said previously printed line is a predeterminedline, and means controlled by said determining means for preventing anyprinting thereafter on said blank line when said previously printed lineis said predetermined line.

13. The invention according to claim 12, said means fgr preventingprinting comprising means for ejecting said 5 eet.

14. The invention according to claim 13, said predetermined line beingthe lowermost line upon which said sheet is to receive printing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,244,252 Keen June 3, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OFCORRECTION Patent No. 2,916,129 December 8 1959 Charles A, Parkerappears in the printed specification It is hereby certified that errorcorrection and that the said Letters of the above numbered patentrequiring Patent should read as corrected below.

1 Column 2 line 52 for "lines" read line column 5 line 38 after "338insert relay -o This certificate supersedes Certificate of Correctionissued July 12 1960.

' Signed and sealed this 8th day of November 1960,

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE Attesting Officer ROBERT C. WATSUN Commissioner ofPatents

